Maryland House passes bill to end automatic charging of some juveniles as adults

MARYLAND (WBFF) — Maryland lawmakers have approved a bill that would end the automatic charging of certain juveniles as adults and is now on its way to the governor’s office for review.

The Youth Charging Reform Act passed the House of Delegates on Monday after clearing the Senate last week. The bill aims to end the automatic charging of 16- and 17-year-olds as adults for certain drug, assault, and gun offenses.

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The bill drew significant opposition from several top prosecutors in Maryland, including Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Tara Jackson, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy, and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess.

For months, they’ve warned that the change could weaken accountability and pose public safety risks.

“DJS is not equipped to deal with these increased violent offenders, and the legislature should defer the implementation of this bill until the programs are in place,” McCarthy said.

Maryland sheriffs also joined the pushback, including Carroll County Sheriff Jim Dewees, who previously said, “This is not a smart move, by any means, I don’t like it because, and I think by and large, law enforcement doesn’t like it, because we don’t have a whole lot of trust in the juvenile court system and the DJS system.”

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Supporters of the bill argued that most cases end up in the juvenile system regardless, and therefore, it makes sense to start them in the Department of Juvenile Services.

“They’re already ingesting that work anyway; they’re already doing that workload anyway,” Sen. Will Smith, lead sponsor of the legislation, previously told FOX45 News. “We’re just wasting time and money by sending them to the adult system first.”

The bill now awaits at Gov. Wes Moore’s desk for a final decision.